Chapter 6: Why Must I Kill Him?

Lying on the dorm bed, Li Banfeng stared silently at the ceiling.

The dorm bed was high, the ceiling close to him; the mold spots on it looked like eyes, watching him.

Indeed, eyes were watching him, watching every move he made.

Click-click!

The phone received another message.

Who the hell is sending me messages?

This person picked up He Jiaqing’s phone.

He knows I met my third uncle.

He knows I met the police.

He knows He Jiaqing is lying in a hospital bed.

Who is this person?

A professor at university?

A doctor at the hospital?

Old Chen, who claimed to be police?

The gatekeeper downstairs?

…

The phone kept clicking incessantly; Li Banfeng picked it up and glanced—it was He Jiaqing’s number, sending over a dozen messages in a row.

“Banfeng, in four years of university, you’re the only brother I’ve got!”

“Only one sip of wine left—you drink one, I drink one.”

“Only one cigarette left—you smoke half, I smoke half!”

“The first time I took my wife out to eat,

you were with me,

the first time I took my wife out to sleep,

halfway through, you called me—you made me spend the whole night at the internet cafe with you.”

“When you went insane, I took you to the hospital; when your money ran out, I paid for you; when my money ran out, I went to the construction site to haul stones, enduring until you were discharged.”

“Last exam, to pass you answers, I failed a course, nearly got suspended—four years of university, I only recognize you as my brother! Only you!”

…

Dozens of messages proved one thing.

The sender was truly He Jiaqing.

Because only the two of them knew those things.

The last message:

“Brother, save me—only you can save me.”

Li Banfeng took a deep breath and called back, wanting to confirm He Jiaqing’s voice.

The call wouldn’t connect; Li Banfeng sent a message: “How did you get back from the station? Why did you end up on my bed?”

“That wasn’t me.”

“If not you, then who? Where are you? How can you see me?”

Li Banfeng had many questions for He Jiaqing, but only these came to mind for now.

Click-click!

He Jiaqing replied:

“I really want to answer you, but I have no time—the train is about to leave. If you don’t come save me today, you won’t know when the next one comes—you might never see me again.”

The train is about to leave.

Go save you today…

Li Banfeng rolled out of bed and stared quietly out the window.

In university, you only had one friend?

Since birth, how many friends have you had?

Seems like only one.

Below Dormitory Six, it was eerily quiet—even the clotheslines were empty.

But beneath the big willow tree downstairs, a man stood motionless.

He was a thin young man, about Li Banfeng’s age.

His eyes were large, shining like lightbulbs—Li Banfeng could see them clearly from the third floor.

He seemed to be waiting for someone.

This dorm building, besides Li Banfeng, had only the gatekeeper left.

Setting the gatekeeper aside for now, this man must be here for Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng sent He Jiaqing a message: “I’m being watched.”

He Jiaqing replied: “It’s definitely the Dark Star Bureau.”

“What’s the Dark Star Bureau?”

“I really can’t explain now—the Dark Star Bureau can’t be mentioned lightly; they sense it. Brother, save me—wait any longer and it’ll be too late.”

Li Banfeng sat on the chair, lost in thought.

He sat for over ten minutes, not moving.

During that time, the gatekeeper came up, looked at Li Banfeng and said: “Why haven’t you left yet?”

Li Banfeng ignored him—he didn’t even see him.

His mind rapidly replayed every moment with He Jiaqing over the past four years.

Yes—he’s the only brother I’ve got.

After long silence, Li Banfeng typed on his phone:

“Brother, in four years of university, I only recognize you as my brother—only one sip of wine left, we each take one; only one cigarette left, we each take half,

if you run out of money for treatment, I’ll immediately go haul stones at the construction site—no hesitation,

but I don’t want to get involved in this.”

Li Banfeng put down his phone, deeply conflicted.

He no longer wanted to get involved because this exceeded his understanding.

According to Li Banfeng’s knowledge, He Jiaqing’s appearance in time and space made no sense—neither the He Jiaqing on the hospital bed nor the He Jiaqing in the phone.

According to Li Banfeng’s knowledge, He Jiaqing had never shown any supernatural ability in the past four years—otherwise he wouldn’t have been caught cheating.

Li Banfeng thought his tolerance was strong enough, but this kind of thing could drive a normal person insane.

Besides, I’m already insane.

Click-click!

After long silence, his phone received a message from He Jiaqing.

“Okay.” The message had only one character.

Li Banfeng lay back on the dorm bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought again.

Haven’t slept well in three days—just sleep, and it’ll all pass.

Jiaqing, I’ve done all I could for you.

Click-click!

Another message from Jiaqing.

“Take care of yourself.”

Take care of yourself.

That phrase felt familiar.

It was the last thing Li Banfeng ever said to He Jiaqing.

The last thing he said face to face.

Take care…

Tell him to take care—but he isn’t taking care.

Not taking care is not taking care—the truth is that simple.

Li Banfeng sat up and sent a message: “How can I save you?”

“Banfeng, good brother, I beg you—get me something, bring it to my house.”

Though he couldn’t see He Jiaqing’s face, the message’s tone showed he was agitated.

“What thing?” Li Banfeng looked at He Jiaqing’s locker—in his memory, it had long been emptied.

He Jiaqing replied: “It’s not in the dorm—it’s at the campus supermarket.”

Li Banfeng went to the window and looked down.

He first looked at the man still crouched under the tree, then at the nearby campus supermarket.

Li Banfeng: “You say to deliver it to your house—does that mean your hometown?”

He Jiaqing: “It’s my hometown—it’s not far. I’ll buy you a ticket; the train leaves this afternoon! Hurry to the East Station! I beg you!”

Li Banfeng took a deep breath and jumped off the bed.

He washed his face thoroughly, letting the cold water temporarily dull the fatigue of these past days.

He put on a short-sleeved T-shirt, a pair of loose athletic pants, and sneakers.

Since he was going on a long trip, he needed to pack his luggage.

First, he took his wallet, loaded it with his ID, and brought the two thousand yuan in cash that He Jiaqing had given him.

Then he pulled a backpack from his wardrobe—it was something He Jiaqing had bought at a street stall, thirty-one yuan each, fifty for two; He Jiaqing bought two and gave him one.

He packed a change of clothes and set off immediately.

Before leaving, Li Banfeng glanced out the window again—the man with big eyes was still there.

Li Banfeng sent a message: “That guy following me—if he’s not police, he should be fine with some appropriate physical contact, right?”

Click-clack!

“Don’t act rashly.”

“Relax, I know my limits—it’ll definitely fall within self-defense.”

“It’s not about limits—he’s a Dark Energy user. You can’t beat him. You need to find a way to lose him.”

“What’s a Dark Energy user?”

“I can’t explain it to you yet.”

“When I get to your place, you have to tell me everything, straight and clear.”

Li Banfeng stepped outside.

When he first left the dormitory, the big-eyed man didn’t move.

After walking several dozen meters, the big-eyed man silently followed behind.

Li Banfeng walked casually into the campus supermarket, just as casually as if he were buying a pack of spicy strips like usual.

The thin man with big eyes was named Dong Xiaoning, codename Lamp.

He had only joined the Dark Star Bureau last month and still wasn’t very professional in many things.

For instance, surveillance—he was unprofessional at it, and he knew it.

Right now, he was hesitating at the supermarket entrance, wondering whether to go in.

The campus supermarket was small; if he went in, he’d easily be spotted by Li Banfeng.

But if he didn’t go in, he feared he’d lose track of him.

Click-clack! He Jiaqing sent a message.

“The item’s in the locker.”

Li Banfeng walked up to the locker. The campus supermarket only had facial recognition lockers—you could only retrieve items by scanning your face.

“How do I open it? Use your photo?” Li Banfeng replied.

“No, just take it.”

Just take it?

Li Banfeng pressed the retrieve button. The locker screen began recording his face.

What’s the point of this? It’s not my stuff…

Click!

Locker number six opened.

What’s going on?

Scanning my face unlocked He Jiaqing’s item?

How does this work?

Li Banfeng stood stunned for a long time, unable to understand the mechanism.

Inside the locker was a package, tightly wrapped in tape.

The package wasn’t large, but it was heavy. Li Banfeng quickly stuffed it into his backpack. Just as he was about to leave the supermarket, he saw Lamp waiting at the entrance, apparently on the phone.

“The guy following me is on the phone. Can you hear what he’s saying?”

If the man was calling for backup, Li Banfeng had to figure out how to respond.

He Jiaqing replied: “I can hear a little—faint and fuzzy. I can’t do it alone. We need to coordinate. Can you get closer to him?”

Li Banfeng pushed a shopping cart and loitered aimlessly near the supermarket entrance.

Lamp’s voice grew louder, and Li Banfeng heard more clearly.

He Jiaqing seemed to have temporarily lent part of his supernatural ability to Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng not only clearly heard the big-eyed man’s voice, but also the voice on the other end of the call.

“Captain Xiao, Li Banfeng took something from the locker. I’m not sure what it is.”

On the other end of the line, Xiao Zhenggong asked: “Have you reported this to Captain Chen?”

“I called Captain Chen. He didn’t answer.”

There was a long silence on the line, then came Xiao Zhenggong’s order: “Eliminate him. Bring back whatever he took.”

At these words, the big-eyed man trembled all over.

So did Li Banfeng, standing beside the shelves.

To be precise, Li Banfeng trembled even more severely.

Eliminate?

Are you kidding?

What did I do to deserve being eliminated?

PS: Another chapter at noon, twelve o’clock.

(End of Chapter)